Hey there, it’s Anne from Beyond the Bayou Blog. Today, I want to share my take on Chicken Sorrentino with you. This dish holds a special place in my heart, reminding me of cozy family dinners and the comfort of home-cooked meals.
I first tried it years ago at a local Italian restaurant and knew I had to recreate it in my own kitchen. After some trial and error, I’ve put together a version that’s both delicious and easy to make.
What I love about chicken sorrentino is how it combines tender chicken with layers of eggplant, prosciutto, and melty cheese. The rich tomato sauce ties it all together, creating a meal that’s sure to please everyone at the table.
Whether you’re cooking for your family or hosting friends, this recipe is a great choice. Let’s get started and make some chicken sorrentino together!
What Is Sorrentino?
Scallopini refers to thinly sliced meat, typically veal, chicken, or pork, that is quickly cooked in a pan. These thin slices are essential for dishes like Chicken Francese, Chicken Marsala, Chicken Saltimbocca, and Chicken Parmigiana.
While traditionally, achieving the perfect scallopini involves pounding the cutlets with a meat hammer to ensure even thickness, buying pre-thinly sliced cutlets can save time, especially for recipes like Chicken Sorrentino where thin slices are preferable over thicker ones
Why You Will Love This Recipe?
- Flavorful Layers: Chicken Sorrentino features tender chicken breasts layered with savory prosciutto, eggplant, marinara sauce, and a generous amount of melted cheese. It’s a delicious twist on the classic chicken parmigiana.
- Accessible Recipe: Despite its impressive flavors, this recipe is designed to be achievable for anyone. Detailed instructions and accompanying photos guide you through each step, ensuring success in the kitchen.
- Tender Chicken: The chicken cutlets are tender and juicy, ensuring a satisfying main dish. The marinara sauce provides ample moisture and flavor, perfect for pairing with pasta.
- Versatile Serving Options: Serve Chicken Sorrentino with a side of pasta like tonnarelli, garganelli, or cavatelli for a complete meal. Alternatively, complement it with roasted potatoes and broccoli, utilizing the oven for efficiency.
Overview: How To Make Chicken Sorrentino?
Chicken Sorrentino is a delightful Italian dish that brings together tender chicken cutlets with layers of flavor-packed ingredients, baked to perfection for a comforting meal. Imagine thinly sliced chicken breasts, coated in a savory almond flour mixture seasoned with onion powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.
These are then baked until golden and crispy alongside eggplant slices, which have been lightly salted to remove bitterness and brushed with olive oil for a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
For the sauce, a simple yet robust combination of garlic, tomatoes, and red wine simmers to a thick, flavorful consistency. This rich sauce is poured over the assembled layers of chicken, eggplant, and prosciutto in a baking dish.
Topped generously with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, the dish is then baked until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, creating a deliciously gooey finish.
Serve Chicken Sorrentino garnished with fresh basil, adding a final touch of herbal freshness to complement the hearty flavors. It’s a dish that blends ease of preparation with authentic Italian taste, perfect for a family dinner or a cozy gathering with friends.
Enjoy the layers of flavor and comforting textures that make this dish a true Italian classic, ready to delight your taste buds with every bite.
Chicken Sorrentino Recipe
Equipment
- Chef's Knife
- Skillet
- Baking Dish
- Tongs
- Measuring Spoons
- Oven
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 4 chicken breasts
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp dried oregano
EVERYTHING ELSE
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- salt and peper
- 1 large eggplant about 300g
- 22 oz passata (strained, pureed tomatoes)
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 – 2 tbsp fresh basil finely sliced
- 4 slices prosciutto
Instructions
- Slice eggplant into 4 pieces lengthwise, 1/2 inch thick. Salt and rest for 10 mins, then pat dry.
- Flatten chicken breasts between plastic wrap with a meat tenderizer. Season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 400°F, line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix almond flour, onion powder, oregano, salt, and pepper in one bowl. Whisk egg in another bowl.
- Dip chicken in egg, then coat in almond mixture. Place on one side of baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Brush eggplant with 2 tbsp olive oil, place on other side.
- Bake chicken and eggplant 15 mins, flip, bake 12-15 mins until golden and tender.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan, cook garlic until soft. Add passata and red wine, simmer 10-15 mins until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread half of sauce in baking dish. Arrange chicken, eggplant, and prosciutto. Top with remaining sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
- Bake 10-15 mins until cheese melts and browns.
- Serve hot, garnished with fresh basil.
Nutrition
Tips that Are Worth Considering!
- Prep First: Have all your ingredients prepped and ready before you start cooking. This keeps things organized and ensures a smoother cooking process.
- Choose Thin Cutlets: Opt for thin chicken cutlets. This not only helps in cooking them more evenly but also keeps them tender. Resist the temptation to skip this step!
- Avoid Overcooking: When baking the chicken initially, avoid overcooking it. Remember, it will bake again later. It’s okay if the internal temperature hasn’t reached 165°F right away.
- Season Well: Taste and season your sauce generously. The marinara sauce plays a crucial role in flavoring the dish, so ensure it’s well-seasoned with enough salt to enhance its taste.
What To Serve With Chicken Sorrentino?
Can Prosciutto Be Substituted?
Yes, anything in this recipe can be substituted, but it really does derive a lot of its original flavor from the prosciutto. I find prosciutto easier to get than ever before. Often it’s available at a good price from places like Costco or Trader Joe’s.
If going the substitution route a good quality ham would be fine. Serrano ham would be excellent though it’s just as expensive and probably harder to find than prosciutto.
Can I Pan Fry The Chicken And Eggplant?
Yes, some recipes have you cook the chicken and eggplant in a skillet on the stove top rather than baking. This is definitely possible but I find that you need to use a lot more olive oil or butter in the pan and it’s much messier and hands on than just baking in the oven.
Baking the two allows you to make the sauce at the same time, lessening the total cooking time of the recipe.
Can this be frozen?
The best way to freeze chicken sorrentino is to make the recipe all the way through the assembly process. Don’t bake it off but freeze it at this point.
Thaw under refrigeration and let come to room temperature before baking until golden brown.